Making Your Perfect All-In-One Makeup Palette

Hey guys!  Today I thought I would share with you a little project I've been working on.  As you may know, we really love to travel and it seems we are constantly either going somewhere or planning our next vacation or leaving for a quick weekend getaway, etc.  I am constantly trying to perfect my travel stuff - really hone in on packing everything I need but conserve space where I can.  This can be very trying.  I have done it all - packed too much, not enough, and on the rare occasion, just enough and exactly what I need.  I get better each passing year, and I thought I would show you how I have compiled most of my face/powder products into one palette.

First step:  decide what YOU want or need in your own makeup palette.  I am very choosy and I love to have options, so limiting myself to any one thing is not best for me, lol.  I have so much makeup here at home, and I hate being away and only having a couple of products to choose from.  I can't help it, I just do.  So, FOR ME, I wanted a palette that gave me a few options for several different products.  

Basic necessities:  

1.  Bronzers - matte

2.  Blushes - a pink, a peach, a plum, a shimmery peachy pink, and one with a pop of color (this is probably the one category I wanted the most options)

3.  Highlights

4.  Undereye concealer setting powder

5.  Eyeshadows - blending out crease colors, browbone highlights, shimmery lid shades, a matte black, etc.  

We will begin with the Z palette I chose to put everything in.  If you follow my blog at all, then you are aware of my love for the Sephora Collection Z palettes.

These Z palettes are wider and deeper than the standard, large Z palettes.  

If you plan on putting baked or dome shaped products in your palette, then I highly recommend these.  The regular Z palettes will not close with those kinds of products in them, they just aren't deep enough to hold them.

Other things you'll need:

Labels.

I bought mine at Wal-Mart, and they're just these little round white ones by Avery.

You'll also need an ink pen or a Sharpie (I use the Ultra Fine Sharpie) and some magnets.  I have been on a HUGE depotting spree, so I ordered a big pack of them.  You get several when you purchase a Z palette, but I needed like a ton for all the palettes I've been working on.

Next, decide what exact products you want in your palette and get to depotting.  Depot them, wipe them off and clean them up, stick a magnet on the bottom of the pan (make sure to test all pans out in your palette, some brands have pans that will automatically stick without adding an extra magnet), add your label and you are set!

A depotting extravaganza!

Now we will talk about some of the products I put in my palette.  We will begin with bronzers.  For this palette I wanted good quality, matte bronzers.  When you have really good ones, they have multiple uses:  sweep it lightly all over your face to give you a sunkissed glow, or use them as a great contour.  Matte bronzers are also great as a blending out shade in your crease.  The 1st bronzer I put in my palette is this Too Faced Chocolate Soleil travel one that I think was either a 100 or 250 point perk from Sephora.  I got it earlier this year and knew it would be great for traveling.

Here it is in the clamshell next to my full-size Chocolate Soleil.  It's a really decently sized product.

The pan had a little bit residual glue on it when I depotted it, and I used that to my advantage.  The residual glue can sometimes help anchor your magnet a little more securely.  

I depotted all 3 pans from my Nars NARSissicist Palette.  This palette had 0.08oz pans of Laguna (bronzer) Orgasm (blush) and Devotee (highlight).  Nars is my favorite high-end brand of makeup, and I knew all 3 of these shades would be perfect.

As I mentioned above I love having lots of options with my blush, and that's just what I have here! There are a total of 5 blushes in my palette, hehe. 
Having smaller sized items is great, but don't think you have to go out and buy all new products for your palette.  Use what you've got, and along the way pick up items here and there that come along that might be something you'd use in it for replacements or whatever.  Another thing to keep in mind, having a few larger items in your palette is not necessarily a bad thing either.  If it's something you really love and something you find yourself reaching for most every time you put your makeup on, a bigger pan might be a better choice. 

As far as eyeshadows go, I used a little old and a little new. I knew I wanted a really good, matte black eyeshadow so I depotted this little one from one of my WnW Greed Palettes (I have 2).  While I was at it, I noticed this matte-peachy-nude shade that would work as a great crease color, so I depotted it as well (very similar to Makeup Geek Peach Smoothie, just a little darker).

You get these really little rectangle magnets with your Z Palettes when you purchase them, and they work great on the little WnW pans!

I purchased a few new items for my palette, simply because I don't like to use my everyday items.  Where we travel so much I like to have makeup set aside just for travel.  New products I added:  MAC Soft Brown and Brown Script eyeshadows and MAC Pro Sculpting Powder in Emphasize (to set my undereye concealer).
And lastly, just a couple of things to consider. First, kind of keep products grouped and/or separated when you are putting them in your palette. If you're like me and you put a bazillion products in your palette, it's kind of like a game of Tetris trying to get it all to fit, lol.  As long as you get everything in, that's what's most important. But, I attempted to put my darker shades together, lighter shades together, mattes together, and shimmery shades together.  This wasn't 100% possible, but generally this is what I did.  And the last thing to keep in kind, this is all changeable. With Z palettes you can always pop pans out and replace them with something else.   If you know you're going to be aiming for a certain look, pop in whatever shades you need (a purple or a blue for example).  Mix and match, play around, find what works best for you and your needs!

And here is my finished palette!

1.  Nars Sophia Eyeshadow (matte dark brown)

2.  Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer

3.  Nars Laguna Bronzer

4.  NYX Peach Blush (matte pink)

5.  Estée Lauder Peach Nuances Blush (ombré peach)

6.  MAC Brown Script Eyeshadow (matte, dark, reddish brown)

7.  Wet n Wild Greed Palette Eyeshadow (matte peachy nude)

8.  Wet n Wild Greed Palette Eyeshadow (matte black)

9.  Essence Life's A Cherry Blush (bright, matte pinky red)

10.  Covergirl True Plum Blush (plum)

11.  MAC Soft Brown (matte midtone brown for crease, blending)

12.  Wet n Wild Brule Eyeshadow (matte nude)

13.  Jordana White Lie Eyeshadow (matte white)

14.  MAC Pro-Sculpting Powder in Emphasize

15.  Elizabeth Mott Champagne Eyeshadow (shimmery champagne lid color)

16.  Nars Orgasm Blush (shimmery peachy/pink with gold)

17.  Nars Devotee Highlight (shimmery alabaster highlight or eyeshadow shade)

18.  MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle

Hope you found this helpful!  What products do you guys need in your All-in-One palette?